The present disclosure relates generally to mobile communications, and in particular to techniques for adapting, during travel, to environments that have weak or no mobile communication network access.
Computers and other electronic devices can communicate with each other over networks such as local area networks, wide area networks, and the Internet. Mobile devices such as cell phones, including so-called smart phones, can communicate with each other wirelessly over a variety of wireless networks including 3G and 4G networks. Smart phones can send data packets over such networks, and through the Internet, to various servers, and can receive information from such servers through similar channels. In this manner, a user of a smart phone can view web pages, listen to music, and watch videos obtained from a remote server while that user is traveling. A smart phone can also send, to other smart phones, data packets that represent audio or textual communications. These data packets, traveling through the networks, contain fragments of audible or textual conversations between the users of the smart phones. However, typically, a mobile device can only send and receive data packets while that mobile device has access to a wireless network.
As a user of a mobile device travels from one area to another, the user may encounter locations in which access to a wireless network is limited or non-existent. This may occur, for example, when the user has traveled nearly or entirely out of range of a signal tower or wireless access point. Until the mobile device comes back within range of the same or another signal tower or wireless access point, the mobile device may be unable to conduct any communications with the external world. If a mobile device user is involved in an important conversation or using an important network-based service at the time that the user enters into a zone in which signal strength is weak or absent, then the user may become frustrated at unexpectedly having his important activity interrupted for some period of time.